Laura Secord was a Canadian heroine of the War of 1812. She is known for having walked 20 miles out of American-occupied territory in 1813 to warn British forces of an impending American attack. Her contribution to the war was little known during her lifetime, but since her death she has been frequently honoured in Canada.
About Laura Secord in brief
Laura Secord was a Canadian heroine of the War of 1812. She is known for having walked 20 miles out of American-occupied territory in 1813 to warn British forces of an impending American attack. Her contribution to the war was little known during her lifetime, but since her death she has been frequently honoured in Canada. Most Canadians associate her with the Laura Secord Chocolates company, named after her on the centennial of her walk. Her father, Thomas Ingersoll, lived in Massachusetts and fought on the side of the Patriots during the Revolutionary War. In 1795 he moved his family to the Niagara region of Upper Canada after he had applied for and received a land grant. Shortly after, Laura married Loyalist James Secord, who was later seriously wounded at the Battle of Queenston Heights early in the war. Her effort was forgotten until 1860, when Edward, Prince of Wales awarded the impoverished widow £100 for her service on his visit to Canada. Her tale has been the subject of books, plays, and poetry, often with many embellishments. Since her death, Canada has bestowed honours on her, including schoolsnamed after her, monuments, a museum, a memorial stamp and coin, and a statue at the Valiants Memorial in the Canadian capital. She was born in Great Barrington in the colonial Province of Massachusetts Bay on 13 September 1775. Her paternal immigrant ancestor was Richard Ingeroll, who had arrived in Salem, Massachusetts, from Bedfordshire, England, in 1629.
Thomas’s family had lived inachusetts for five generations. He spent much time away from home, as he rose through the ranks in the military during the American Revolutionary War, and became a magistrate. He was the last member of this branch of the family to be born in Massachusetts. Thomas helped suppress Shays’ Rebellion in 1786, which earned him the rank of major and was offended by the persecution of Loyalists in Massachusetts in the following years. He realized that the depressed economic conditions that the former Revolutionary War left him unlikely to see his former prosperity again. He travelled to Upper Canada to petition Lieutenant Governor John Simcoe to show him the best land for settlement where the Crown was encouraging development. They followed him to New York City in 1793, where he met Mohawk leader Joseph Brant, who offered him land for the best settlement in Upper Canada. Thomas remarried to Mercy Smith, widow of Josiah Smith, on 26 May 1785, and had an additional four girls and three boys. The first boy, Charles Fortescue, was born on 27 September91. He and his wife, Charlotte, were the last members of the Ingerolls to beborn in Massachusetts, and Appolonia and Charlotte were born in 17olonia in 1795. They gave up Abigail for adoption in 1784 to an aunt with the surname Nash. Elizabeth gave birth to three more girls: Elizabeth Franks on 17 October 1779; Mira in 1781; and Abigails in September 1783.
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This page is based on the article Laura Secord published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 04, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
